Circular-knitting machine



March 4, 1930. c. w. DIFFENDERFER 1,743,946

I I CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE iled July 20, 1928 s Sheets-Sheet 1 A TTORNE Y.

March 4, 1930;

c. w. DIFFE NDERFER CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 20, 1928 3 Sheets-sheet ATTORNEY.

'March 4, 1930. c. w. DIFFENDERFER 1,748,946

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 20, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 A TTORNEY.

g i UNE'E D T Patented Mar. 4, 1930 CHARLES w. DIFFENDE INTERWOVEN MILLS, on NEW JERSEY Application' filed July 20;

v This invention relatesjto circularstocking knitting machines and more particularly to an improvement in that typeof machine commonly known inthe-art as the split-foot machine', generally illustrated in the Hemphlll Patent 983,4li3 and'known' tothe'trade as the 4 Banner'machine, whichin addition to the parts disclosed in said patent carries a striper attachment for producing a horizontally 1 striped sock; Thepresent invention isessen-j' tially designed" as an improvementon the cone structi'on disclosed in the application of Joseph Haas and Russell Evans, filed Novembar 1%,, 1927, Serial No. 233,15,,wherein there. is illustrated an improvement on the Banner machine designed to place upon theupper section of the toe pocket a reinforcement in the nature of, a plating which was designed so as toavold a bulky gore line and "thereby prevent unpleasant irritation to the tender the sideof the ,great :toe. As ex? the aforesaid-Haas andEva'ns apa stockings of this type, 'awhether full-fashioned, Ic'arry a" line of structed of relatively heavy thread produce a gore line of considerablethickness Wl11Cl1'1I'I'1-' tatesthevtenderskin at theaside of the great toe.- r If thisgore line is increased in bulk'the irritation wouldlundoubtedlyresult inlcon been Wholly avoided inforce or plating panel in such manner" that itd-oes not. extend to thefgoreline on either, side of the toepocketback-of the point normally engaged by the great-toenailysotthat" siderable discomfort by constructing the rethese gorelines arenot increasedin bulk and h inforcedisclosed in Mettler,

. yet the reinforce extends over a sufficientarea to properly protect'the stocking against the wearproduced by the constant rubbing of the sockiagainst theshoefcap. V I

' "The Haas andEvans machine disclosed in.

the aboveidentified application, While being capable of placing the peculiar shaped re- Haas and Evans application filed Septen1ber24l, 1927, Serial No. 221,666,it has been found out that when the. machine .isioperatin'g under power freto the wearer whichflhas the improveddouble-sole lever y AT NTOFF i CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE 192s. Serial No. 94,216.

yarn to the needles is withdrawn .a little too early which causes the production of a reinforce 'or plating -panel'having an uneven and ragged appearance. and Evans machlnedoes not affect in any way inforce, but does produce, uneven edge which materially aifects the appearance and selling qualities of the stock.

' It is, therefore, the principal object of this invention to avoid the difficulties which have been encountered in the Haas and Evans 1na-,

chin-e and to provide mechanism which: in-

1 sures the introduction andwithdrawal of the plating thread at thesaine point inall courses in which said-plating; thread is introduced,

FER, on 'GREENCASTLE, PENns LvAnIA, n-ssrenon ro 'rnn mo, oF -NEw-BnUnswrcK, nnw annsnY; A coanoan'rion -i.=.i

quently the yarn finger feeding the This fault in the Haas the strengthor wearing properties of the reas before stated, an

thereby; producing a reinforcing panel havrl 7 ing clean-:cutmarginal edges, which show'no unevenness;

Further ob]ects oft-he invention will-"appear as the-following specific description is read in connection; with the accompanying drawings which form apart of this invention, j a

de elevation showingmy invention applied to'a circular knittinggmachine and in which v Fig-111s asi of the Banner type s Fig. 2 is a slde elevationtahen from a {point opposite to that in Fig.1, with parts of the side 'plate of the machine brokenaway to better illustrate the features of this invention;

- Fig. 3 is a detail elevation of certain portions of the knitting mechanism illustrating parts disclosed i-nFig. 2 on an enlarged scale Fig. 4 is a skeleton rear elevation;

Fig. 5 is a-detail section showing the yarn 'fingersa-nd theiraoperating connections; P i

Fig. 6 is a detail horizontal section taken on the line -6 '6-of Fig. 1 1

' Fig; 7 is a .pe-rspective view showing in de tail the connection of one of the pattern 1e .vers with the pull rod or wire;

-. Fig. 8 is a detail front elevation showing Fig. 11 is-a similar sectional view-showing the cam block offthe double-sole lever shift isia sectional view takenonfthe of side plates 3 ed to one side of its normal position by the high splice. cam; V

Fig. 12 discloses a modification of the high splice cam for accomplishing a purpose similar to that obtained by the shifting of the cam block on the double-sole lever; and

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the doublesole lever showing a modified type of spring for actuating the cam lug arm or lever.

For the purpose of obtaining a complete understanding of the operation of the improved double-sole lever, it is necessary to describe in part the features of the Banner machine which cooperate to produce the operation and proper control of the improved double-sole lever and hence the description found in the Haas and Evans application above identified is repeated here.

The Hemphill Banner machine asgenerally illustrated in the Hemphill Patent 933,443 comprises a base plate 1 which is supported upon legs 2 and has rising therefrom a pair and 3 supporting a top 4 upon which the knitting head is carried. Journalled in suitable bearings in the side plates 3 and 3 is what is known as the pattern shaft 6 having connected thereto the customary ratchet wheel 7 operated intermittently by mechanism not disclosed herein through the 104-to0th gear shown at 8. The shaft 6 also carries the sprocket 9 overwhich the pattern chain 10 is adapted to travel in the usual manner and this pattern chain throws, by means of lugs on its links, certain pawls one of which is illustrated at 11. This pawl, where the Banner machine has a striper attachment applied thereto, is con nected by means of a link 12 to a lever13 pivoted at 14t0 the side plate 3. The rear end of this lever is connected by means of a link 15 to the pattern chain pawl holder 16 which as shown in F ig. 4 is substantially L-shaped.

- This pawl holder is freely pivoted upon the striper pattern shaft 17 and has itsupper right-angular end extended horizontally over the pattern chain sprocket 18 and over the pattern disc shaft ratchet 19 as shown in Fig.4. r

Pivoted on the side plate 3 which supports the lever 13 is the pattern chain pawl 20 having its rear end formed into a chain engaging foot 21 which is adapted to rest upon the striper pattern chain 22 when released aswill be hereinafter described. This pawl 20 is supported in elevated position by the pawl holder 16 but immediately upon being released by such pawl gagement with the pattern chainj22 by anontractile spring 23 which is also connected to the rear end of the lever 13 and serves to re turn the pawl holder and lever 13 to their normal positions as illustrated in Fig; 1.

Pivoted to the under side of thetop 4 is a depending link 24 which carries the pattern chain pawl 25 adapted to ride idly over the 1 of a yarn finger 37,

holder is forced into en ratchet wheel 19 in one movement and to engage and rotate said ratchet wheel in the opposite movement. The link 24 is engaged with the pawl holder 16 and when this latter part is in its normal position shown in Fig. 1, the link 24 is held out of the path of a roller stud 26 secured eccentrically to theinner side of the 104-tootl1 gear 8. When, however, the

pawl holder 16 is retracted by the elevation of the pawl 11 and the depression of the rear end of the lever 13 against the tension of the spring 23, the link 24 will be drawn forwardly by the action of the spring 27, connected at one end to the link 24 adjacent its upper end and at its opposite end to the inner side of the side plate 3 so as to bring the link 24 within the path of the eccentric roller stud 26. This roller stud then camming upon the link 24 and forcing the same rearwardly' causes the pawl 26 to engage and rotate the ratchet 19 which is keyed as shown in Fig. 4 to the striper pattern shaft 17.

" All'of the foregoing mechanism is a part of the usual Banner machine with horizontal striper attachment and forms no part of this elevate the rear end of'the lever 29 while each cam 33 is adapted to elevate the rearendof the lever 30. Y r Thelever 29is extended into the machine toward the forward end thereof and has'connected to itsinner end a wire or link 34 which extends upwardly through the top 4 and into the yarn change lever bracket 35 where it is connected at its upper end to a yarn change lever 36 pivoted to the bracket 35 as particularly. shown in Fig. 5. This lever has its forwardend bearing upon the under side as is customary, which finger is acted upon by a spring 38 to normally-throw it into operative yarn feeding position,'but is held out of operativeposition by the yarn change lever 36until the rear end ofsaid lever'is elevated so as to release the finger to theaction ofthe spring 38.

The lever "30 has connected to its front end a rod 39 pivoted at its upperend to the horizontal arm of a bell cranklever 40 pivotedat 41 to bracket 42 depending from the top 4. Thever'tical arm of this'bell crank lever is bifurcated as shown to receive a laterally extending stud 43 carried upon a sleeve 44slidably mounted upon a shaft 45 secured in'bearings 46 depending from the top 4. The sleeve 44 is normally thrown to the left in Fig. 4 by means of a spiral spring 47 surthe shaft 4:5 betweenjthe bearing 46 and the .end'of the shaft; This spring 47 as secured to the bearing i to the lever36 as clearly shown in Fig. 4.

I 2p opposite end of the sleeve 44 has formed ina threaded an arm understood as the acting throw the bell-crank or double-sole lever 40 Fig. Shas one terminal 46 and its opposrte end secured to the sleeve 44 sothat in addition to as'acompression spring to normally -shown particularly out. of the path of the acts as a torsionsp'ring will be clearly understood from lows;

The sleeve 4A provided with a lateral high splicecam it also for a'purpose which what folcarries atone end an arm 48 threaded into theztop a. The terminal of the armslS' has secured thereto a rod 51 which extends "upwardly "into," the yarn change bracket 35 andis eonnecte'd at. its upper end The te-grally therewith a lug '52 into which is outer terminal as 'shownat 54: to receive an adj ustable'stop 55 which'is held in positionon the arin=58 by means of a lock nut 56. Adja o cent the lug 52 there is also adjustably secured a stop collar 5 r the' purpose of which will be description proceeds.

Slidably'mounted upon the arm 53 is a lug 58 having the face adjacentth'e rear of the machine provided'with a V-shapednotch 59 f presenting cam surfaces 60 which are engaged v by a roller 61 journalled on a shaft 62 secured i Asshownthe arms 64, 64 of the.

j cla'mping lever "63. :Figs. 8; 10 and 11 comprises a pair of spaced Asdisclosed the arms 6 1 and lag 52 and receive a pivotingpin 40;

arms 64 and 64 joined by carries the V shaped notch 59 and the roller -61 is pressed into engagement with'saidnotch by. means-ofa substantially U shaped spring '68"which iskclamped to the lug 52'by a set screw 69 and is rei forcedv by a thin? leaf spring'ZO heldin position above the spring 68 by the set screw 69. This reinforcing spring is as noted inyFig. 10', taperedfrom its butt end to the lowerterminal thereof so :that it i held "against the lug by a washer and clamp gives readily with the same from having any definite po nt of the spring 68 and prevents flex-ing as would be thecasewere the spring 68 nut. Asshown' the spring 68 has itslower terminal or' yoke V contacting with the bridge of lever 63 and with the leaf spring 70 normally tends to f me the roller '61 into the bottom of the notch'59;

' The lug has its face opposite to the notch '59 provided with bevelled surfaces cam as shown is keyed to a shaft 74 extension 49 arranged 1 in the path of an adjusting set screw 50 53 which is threaded at its the surface ofth'e disc e nd bent at right-angles and, F

' that the forwardend or the yarn change lever *36 is held elevated and th'e'yarn finger also arranged to be engaged by the shoulder'rises 72 on the high splice cam and is re- 73. This'h'igh splice ciprocated through mechanism driven by the 1O4-tooth gear ciprocating knitting,

8 "as is customary during reand has'high and low spots indicated at 75 and 7 6 respectively, the

high spot of the cambeing extended throughout the major portion of the circumference and the low spot being divided into two parts 5 as is clearly shown inliig. 11. The cam as usual is in the form of a split ring its ends be; ing connected together by a screw 77 thus producing agapiwhich the lug "58 would enter were it not forthe fact that the arm 53 is limited in its inward movement toward the shaft 7 i by theextension 19 coming'into en: gagement with'the adjusting screw 50. Y r In the operation of the device as thus far described when the pawl 11 is raised by alug on the pattern chain'lO the forward end I of the lever 18 will be elevated and its rear end depressed against the tension of, the

23; This depression of the rear end of the lever 13 will throw the link 15,-pull 1 spring the pawl holder tothe position shown in dot ted lines n Fig. 1, and thus permit the pawl 20 to drop onto the chain22.- The retraction of the pawl holder 16 also releases the link 24 which is'then drawn into the path of the eccentricstud 26 in the 104-tooth gear and i 1s thus-rec1pr-ocated back and forth by said stud so long asthepawl holder 16 remains retracted, the pawl holder being held in retracted position by a notch 21 formed on the underside of thepawl. a i

.The rearward movement of the link 24as of the shaft 1? so long as the pawl20 remains in engagementwith the pattern, chain 22. i

lVhen, however, a luglink on the pattern from the locking notch and thus perinits the ice actuated by'the stud 26 will cause a rotation spring 23 to restore'said pawl holderjto its normal position as shown in full lines'in -1 1. This movement of the pawl holder carries the link 2 l out of the path of the stud 26 and no further rotation of the pattern jllo' shaft 17 will occur until another l'ug on the pattern cha1n 1O ls'brought into engagement 1 withthe pawl 11. o v v a During the normal knitting of theleg, foot and toe and under portion of the toe of the, stocking, the lever 29 has its rear end resting uponone ofthe cams 32 and elevated above a I 31., This causesthe inner'end of thelever 29 to be depressed; so

elevated so as to keep'tlie yarn carriedthere alug on the patternchain lOlifts the pawl 11 and throughthe mechanism just described by out "of the path of the needles. VVhen" a the pattern shaft 17 is rotated the disc31 is moved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3 so as to carry the cam 32 which has been supporting the rear end of the lever 29 out of engagement with such lever. This permits the spring 38 to throw the particular yarn finger down into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5 and elevate the forward end of the lever 29 through the lever 36 and link 34. Thus the yarn carried by the finger 37 is drawn into the path of the needles and is maintained in such position so long as the rear end of the lever 29 rests upon the surface of the pattern disc 31;. When the rear end of the lever 29 is again elevated the yarn finger 37 is thrown out of operation through the depression of the forward or inner. end of the lever 29 and the elevationof the forward end of the yarn change lever 36.

As before explained the spring 47 normally forces the sleeve 44'to the left as viewed in Figs.4 and 8 so as to throw the arm 53 out of the oath of the hi 'h s alice cam 73. This 1 a: l

is the position of the parts when the rear end of the lever 30 is raised upon the periphery of the pattern disc 31. pattern disc hasbeen rotated a sufiicient distance and the rear end of the lever 29 is raised upon the face of said pattern disc, one of the cams 33 will engage and elevate the rear end of the lever 30 thus depressing its forward or inner end, drawing down on the link or rod39 and turning the bell crank lever40 so as to shift the sleeve 44 against the tension of the spring 47 and-bring the arm 53 and the lug high splice cam 73. As this cam reciprocates during the knitting of the toe pocket the rear end of the yarn change lever 36 will be elevated when the low spots on the cam engage the lug 58 and will be depressed when the high spot on the cam is acting upon said lug. Thus in the reciprocation of the cam 73'the yarn finger 37 is thrown into and out of operative posit-ion to feed yarn to the needles at suitable intervals governed by the number of needles in operation and by the position of the high and low spots on the cam 73.

As is well understood in the knitting of the toe pocket, a reciprocating operation, a needle is dropped with each reciprocation of the knitting head so that when the bottom of the toe pocket is being knit it will be gradually narrowed to the narrowest course at whichtime through the operation of the pattern control, needles will be added at each stroke so as to widen the upper portion of the toepocket out to correspond with the 7 width of the bottom and to properly join the bottom and top portions of the toe pocket at the side gores. It is at this point of widening of the upper portion of the toe pocket that the lever 30 drops oft" of one lVhen, however, the

58 into the path of the of the cams 33 so that the yarn finger 37 is thrown into action immediately upon beginning the widening of the toe pocket and is continued in this manner so long as is desired, insert the plating yarn which is carried by the yarn finger 37 throughout the full width of the courses and joining them with the under-courses of the toe pocket in the selvage stitches. This operation is continued for a sufficient number of courses to carry the plating reinforcement far enough back from the tip to-insure at all times rein forcement over the great toe nail. Then when ten or twelve courses have been knit in thismanner, which is usuallysuflicient, one of the cams 33 is brought into engagement with the lever 30 and therear end of this lever elevated so as to depress its forward or inner end, thus shifting the'sleeve 44 and bringing the arm 53 into the "path of the high splice cam 73. In the reciprocation of this cam its low spots 76 are presented to the lug 58 carried by the arm 53 which lug drops into such low spots by action of the springs 68 and 70. -When a low spot is enarm 48 depressed with its rod 51, thus cans-- ing the elevation of the forward end of the yarn change lever and a consequent elevation of the yarn finger against the tension of the spring 38. w

In the practical operation of this plating attachment when the lug 58 is arranged in the path of the high splice cam 73, the yarn finger will. be thrown into and out of operation at predetermined points in each course across the upper section of the toe pocket and when the lever 29 is engaged by cam 32 on r the pattern disc 31, the yarnfinger 37 will feed the plating yarn to all of the needles in operation during the widening of thetoe pocket so that the plating yarnwill extend from gore line to gore linein each course. After the lever'29 has been released byone of the cams 32 the lever 30 will be elevated upon a cam 33 and through the link 39 and bell crank 40 will shift the sleeve 44 against thetension of the spring 47 thus placing the lug58 in the path of the high splice cam which thereafter acts to control the position of the yarn finger 37. During the reciprocation of the high splice cam 73 high and low spots are presented to thelug 58 and the sleeve 44 consequently rocked by its shaft 45 against the tension of the spring 47 then acting as a torsion spring. This was the operation of the Haas and Evans machinev disclosed in the aforesaid applicationand form of a rectangular panel having a width somewhat less than the width of the shortest course of the toe pocket. The operation of the machine as just described covers the insertion of the platingthread to produce a panel similar to thatillustratedin Fig.4ofapplication Serial No. 221,666 but I wish it to be understood that by proper adjustment of.

the cams on the pattern disc 31 or more specifically speaking the advancement of the cams 33 on said cam disc 31 the operator may control the actuation of the lever 30 and the consequent reciprocation of the rod or wire '39 when the needles start the widening of the toe pocket and this operation can be conit tinned as long as it is desired so as to form a rectangular panel of somewhat less width than the narrowest course of the toe pocket to produce a panel like that illustrated in Fig. 3 of. the aforesaid application. In such case none of the plating threads are extended to the side gores of the toepocket and therefore the selvage stitches are not increased in bulk V at any point.

WVhen knitting in a reinforcing or plating thread less than the width of the narrowest course the tension on the plating yarn must always be substantially the same. Under these circumstances, when the yarn finger carrying. the plating thread is thrown out of operation, there would be considerable slack in the yarn between the yarn finger and the bobbin if no means were provided for taking up this slack and as a consequent resultnumerous float threads would be present on the inner side of the stocking which would subsequently have to be removed in the usual manner. In order to prevent these float threads I secure to the side plate 3 a stud 78 which extends diagonally away from said side plate and has pivoted thereon a lever 7 9 one end of which normally rests upon the rear end of the lever 29 as shown in Figs.

2, 3 and 4:. The opposite end of the leverhas adjustablysecured thereto a rod 80 which eX- tends vertically and is connected through a coupling member 81 to a takeup wire 82 which is normally elevated by a spiral spring 83 surrounding said wire between a bracket arm 84 and an adjustable collar 85 secured to said wire. The bracket 80 is carried by the usual bobbin stand rod 86 which also cara spring 91 to the bobbin stand rod 86, which spring normally acts to elevate the forward end of the lever 89 when the lever is released by the takeup wire 59.

lVhenthe lever 29 has its rear end resting 1 upon the pattern disc 31 the contacting end of the lever 79 will alsqbe depressed per mitting the spring 83 to elevate the takeup wire and engage the takeup lever 89 between its pivot point. and the connection of the spring 91 thus operating to depress the forward end of the'alever'89- against the tension of the spring 91. In this position the forward end of the lever 29 is elevated with the result that the-spring 38 has thrown the yarn finger into position to feed the yarn carried thereby into the path of the needles. When the rear end of the lever 29 is elevated upon a cam 32 the contacting endof the lever 89 will also be elevated and the takeup wire pulled downwardly against the tension of the spring 83 thus carrying the upper end of said wire out of engagementwith the lever 89 permitting the spring 91 to elevate the forward end of the lever 89 and thus take up the slack caused by the elevation of the yarn finger.

When the lever 29 has its rear end depressed and the rear end of the lever 30 is elevated on a cam'33 said lever 30 fits within a notch 92 formed on the under side of the lever 7 9 so that this lever does not interfere in any way with the operation of the lever 30 'andvice versa. Y

In Fig. 13 I have shown a modified type of spring for actuating the arm 63 toward the lug 58 and for holding theroller 61 against the cam surfaces 59 and 60. In this form the spring is constructed of a'single strand of spring wire bent upon itself so as to present a substantially U-shaped outline and is indicated generally at 68. They legs of said spring are bent downwardly and crossed as shown at 68 and the terminals 68 of said legs are straightened into parallelism and held beneath the washer 68 by the set screw 69. As will be seen from an inspection of Figure 13 the crossing of the legs produces in that portion that is crosseda torsional action when the arm 63 is lifted by the action of the high-splice cam on the lug 58. This takes up and distributes the strength over a considerable length of the spring and prevents establishing a direct fulcrum-point where the spring is engaged by the washer 69 r V What I claim is: e

1. Actuating mechanism for yarn fingers of circular stocking knitting machines, comprising a reciprocally mounted element, operative connections therefrom to a yarn finger, means for intermittently reciprocatingsaid element to insert and withdraw said yarn finger, and means for delaying the movement of said element during one portion of a cycle of reciprocation to insure insertion and withdrawal of the yarn finger at the same needle.

2. Actuating mechanism for yarn fingers of circular stocking knitting machines, comprising a pair of reciprocating elements one of which sition when moved in one direction and to permit the return of the yarn finger to yarn feeding position when moved in the opposite direction, a reciprocating cam having spaced rises, a sliding abutment carried by the lever and arranged to be moved on said lever in either direction of reciprocation of the cam by said rises for retarding the movement of said lever to withdraw the yarn feeding finger from operative yarn feeding position, and means constructed to return said abutment to normal position when moved in either direction.

18. Mechanism for reciprocating yarn feeding fingers of circular stocking knitting machines into and out of operative yarn feeding position, comprising a reciprocally mounted lever, a connection from said lever to a yarn finger constructed to throw said yarn finger out of operative yarn feeding position when moved in one direction and to permit the return of the yarn finger to yarn feeding position when moved in the opposite direction, a reciprocating cam having spaced rises, a sliding abutment carried by the lever and arranged to be moved on said lever in eitherdirection of reciprocation of the cam by said rises for retarding the movement of said lever to withdraw the yarn feeding finger from operative yarn. feeding position,

' andme'ans constructed to return said abutment to normal position when moved in either direction, together with adjustable stops for limiting the movement of the abutment in either direction.

lt. Mechanism for reciprocating yarn feeding fingers of circular stocking knitting machines into and out of operative yarn feeding position, comprising a reciprocally mounted lever, a connection from said lever to a yarn finger'constructed to throw said yarn finger out of operative yarn feeding position when moved in one direction and to" permit the return of the yarn finger to yarn feeding position when moved in the opposite direction, a reciprocating cam having spaced rises, a sliding abutment carried by the lever and arranged to be moved on said lever in either direction of reciprocation of the cam by said rises for retarding the movement of said lever to withdraw the yarn feeding finger from operative yarn feeding position, means constructed to return said abutment to normal position when moved in either direction, said abutment provided with opposed inclined surfaces, and a spring actuated roller adapted toengage either surface for retarding the movement of the abutment and re turning the same to normal position.

- 15. A 'double-sole lever for circular stocking knitting machines, comprising a' bell crank lever, a sliding abutment mounted upon one arm thereof, stops for limiting the movement of said abutment in either direction-,said abutment having opposed inclined surfaces, an arm spring-pressed toward said abutment, and a roller carried by said arm and arranged to ride upon said surfaces to retard themovement of said abut-ment and to return the same to normal position when moved in either direction.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. 

